New Release & Review: ★Game Player★ by B.J. Harvey

From the USA Today bestselling author of the Bliss series comes a new spin off series featuring your favorite Bliss series characters who are yet to meet their match. This time it is Zach and Danika’s turn.

I’m a gamer by nature and by profession. I’m all about strategy, performance, and coming out on top.

Five months ago I threw caution to the wind, and in the first miscalculated step of my twenty-one-year life, I made a move on my brother’s best friend.

The first mistake we made was keeping our relationship secret. The next was going off half-cocked when a train wreck of epic proportions hit us.

Now our secret is secret no more. As I struggle to deal with all of the swirling emotions, conflicted feelings, and the multitude of burned bridges that I need to mend, the one person who can help me through it all is the same man I need space from.

To fix it I’ll have to pull on my big-girl panties, focus on what I truly want in life, and put everything I have into winning the most important game I’ll ever play.

Distance has never worked. Denial hasn’t either. Nothing has ever dimmed the way I feel- and have always felt- whenever I’m around him.

If steamy, feel-good rom coms that are light on the angst and heavy on the swoons are your thing, then B.J. Harvey’s Game series is your holy grail. Game Player was my first book by this author and I was absolutely hooked. Her brand of humor just clicked with me and I knew she had an insta-fan in me.

I’m a sucker for a older brother’s best friend trope, and when I read the blurb for this book, there wasn’t a doubt that I’d be jumping at the chance to meet it.

Danika Roberts is the youngest sibling in her family. She’s an adorably endearing ‘nerd’ that you can’t help but love from the very first page. As the youngest in her family, her brother Zander, who practically raised her, is understandably uber protective of her. Unfortunately for Danika, the object of her fantasies has been and always will be Zander’s best friend and fire fighter, Zach Cooper.

I present to you Zach Cooper Eau de Parfum. Lady boner guaranteed or your money back.

Zach was a refreshing change of pace for me that I absolutely adored. It’s not often you read about a man that actually wants a relationship. Everything that came out of his mouth had me swooning like a teenage girl at a Justin Bieber concert. Swear to god. The man was utter perfection.

As for the story, it was just one of those light and easy reads that simply hits the spot. There’s no internal drama. These two have been hiding feelings from each other for years, and when they do give into it, there’s no question. The light angst comes from an outside factor of Zander and not knowing how to tell him that they’re together. It’s steamy, quirky, and just one of those feel good sort of reads that is perfect to spend a weekend afternoon with.

This was the risk I took when I kissed you back then. The risk I’ve been taking every minute of every day since then while falling in love with you, and the very reason why I’ll risk everything with everyone to have you now”

While Zach and Danika acknowledge their feelings towards each other from the very beginning, I appreciated that the author didn’t throw them into bed together straight away. There’s a bit of a slow burn with that and personally I would have loved more of one. I think for my personal tastes, I would have liked a little of them from the years when Danika moved back to Chicago. I would have loved the added burn and tension between them before they acknowledge it. As it was, it read a little…too easy for me.

This book is so much more than just the romance between Dani and Zach. All the family members and friends make an appearance and I really loved that too. I’ll admit I was little bored with the lack of tension or angst at times, but that’s just my own personal reading taste. B.J. is certainly an author that can write one heck of a rom com and she’ll continue to be my go to for a light and humorous romance. Don’t let my three star fool you. I may be stingy with my stars, but this was definitely a book I’d recommend to any romance lovers…especially if you’re sick of angsty set ups with internal drama and manwhore heroes. Zach will certainly hit the spot just right for you. 😉